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Tipperary 1-28 Wexford 3-20

Reporting by Marisa Kennedy in Croke Park

Tipperary are back in the All Ireland final following a two-point win over Wexford in Croke Park this afternoon.

It was a show of complete character from the Premier County who responded excellently after every Wexford goal.

Read our major talking points below.

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Wexford’s blistering start: Wexford didn’t seem to suffer from the ‘four-week gap’ syndrome that downed Limerick against Kilkenny on Saturday evening. In front of a boisterous crowd, Paudie Foley and Rory O’Connor got their side off to a wonderful start while Tipperary struggled to match their pace, especially in the middle third.

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Open midfield: Both sides were guilty of affording their opponents too much space in the middle of the field but especially Tipperary. Paul Morris, who was being marked by Cathal Barrett, got on so much ball when he travelled down the wing while Wexford’s half-back line pushed forward without being tracked by their markers, leaving them ample opportunity to drop favourable ball into their forward line. Sweeper, Kevin Foley, was the key man for Wexford in helping to create the space.

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Seamus Callanan goal: Wexford’s run of momentum was brought to a sudden halt when Seamus Callanan sent a magnificent shot flying past Mark Fanning. The goal was set up by Niall O’Meara who cut the ball back across the face of goal. Though the angle was highly unfavourable, the Tipperary captain sensationally pulled on the ball on the ground and gave Fanning no chance. The seventh goal in seven games for the Drom & Inch man.

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Range of Wexford scorers: Incredibly, Wexford’s first eight points came from eight different scorers. Jack O’Connor was the only forward not to score in the first half while Conor McDonald’s contribution came in the form of a goal. Liam Ryan and Paudie Foley got in on the scoring action from defence while the lively Kevin Foley, Diarmuid O’Keeffe, Liam Óg McGovern, Paul Morris, Lee Chin and Rory O’Connor also contributed.

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Wexford free-taking issues a thing of the past: One of the few criticisms of Lee Chin has been his inconsistency in his free-taking but that was nowhere to be seen in Croke Park as he knocked over five placed balls in the first period, four frees and a 65 with two of those frees coming from deep within his own half on the sideline.

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Lack of Tipperary forward movement: Tipperary forwards are synonymous with their movement and pulling defenders out of position but at times during the game, there was no creativity in their play whatsoever. Support runners were non-existent leaving, when the half-back line collected the ball, there was little movement inside leaving the likes of Barry Heffernen and Ronan Maher with no option but to send pot shots at goal. That contributed to six first-half wides.

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Impact of sending off: Tipperary were dealt a major blow in the 45th minute when John McGrath was sent off after a second yellow. The Premier County were enjoying a momentum swing at that stage with a brace of two points when McGrath was judged to have struck a player with his hurley. His first yellow came in the opening half when he and Damien Reck were carded for tussling off the ball. Following the sending off, Rory and Jack O’Connor pointed before Chin sent their second goal trickling past Brian Hogan.

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Tipperary show character with response: When Chin’s goal went in, Liam Sheedy’s men found themselves five points behind but within the next nine minutes, Tipperary scored five points without reply through Callanan, Forde, O’Dwyer and substitute, Ger Browne, in what was a stunning comeback.

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VAR badly needed in Gaelic Games: Tipperary’s comeback was harshly halted when Conor McDonald scored Wexford’s third goal. However, on initial viewing, it appeared as though McDonald was in the square when the ball was played across to him. Sean Cleere consulted his umpires and the goal was allowed much to the frustration of the Tipperary players and management.

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Sean Cleere late decision: In the 70th minute, Jake Morris appeared to have scored the winning goal for Tipperary just as he did for the U20s during the week. Prior to that, a Tipperary player was dragged down inside the square. However, when the goal was scored, Cleere called play back and awarded a 20-metre free instead in what was one of many bizarre calls in the game.

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Young guns win it for Tipperary: In the end, Morris was the hero as his point put two between the sides to guarantee to the win. Prior to that, it was points from Mark Kehoe and Ger Browne that brought Tipp right back into contention. Tipperary’s U21 stars from 2018 stood up when needed and proved the difference.

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